Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Dental Ownership Collective ('DOC,' 'we,' 'us,' or 'our') operates the Platform accessible at dentalownership.com. For privacy inquiries, contact us at: privacy@dentalownership.com.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, timestamps
• Device data: device type, screen resolution, language settings
• Usage data: lessons viewed, modules completed, quiz scores, video playback position, community activity
• Cookies and similar tracking technologies—see Section 7

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• If you register or log in via Google OAuth, we receive your name and email address from Google
• If you were referred by another user or affiliate partner, we receive the referral attribution

3. How We Use Your Information

3.1 To Provide the Platform

• Create and manage your account
• Deliver course content, track your progress, and issue certificates
• Operate community features, messaging, and events
• Send transactional emails (account verification, progress updates, event reminders)

3.2 To Improve the Platform

• Analyze usage patterns to improve content and features
• Diagnose and fix technical issues
• Conduct internal research on learner outcomes and curriculum effectiveness

3.3 To Operate the Sponsorship Model

The Platform offers free access to select content, with additional features available through paid subscriptions. Sponsorships help offset operating costs. In exchange for sponsorship, we share certain information about registered learners with sponsors as described in Section 4. This data sharing is disclosed in our Terms of Service. By registering, you consent to this sharing.

3.4 Referral and Affiliate Tracking

• Track which users were referred by other users or affiliate partners
• Attribute registrations to dental schools or coaching organizations for affiliate reporting
• Calculate referral rewards or partner payouts (if applicable)

3.5 Communications

• Send you platform updates, new module announcements, event invitations, and digest emails (you can unsubscribe at any time)
• Send you inactivity nudge emails if you have not logged in for 14 days (you can opt out in settings)

4. Data Sharing with Sponsors

4.1 Who We Share With

We share learner data with Platform sponsors. A list of all active sponsors is maintained on the Platform's About page. Sponsors use this data to identify potential customers for their dental industry products and services.

4.2 What We Share

The following data may be shared with Platform sponsors:

• First name and last name
• Email address
• US state
• Track enrollment (Startup vs. Acquisition)

All other personal data, including lesson progress, community activity, quiz scores, and authentication credentials, is never shared with sponsors.

4.3 How Sponsors Use This Data

Sponsors may use shared data to contact you about their products and services, including dental practice management software, financing, equipment, or other dental industry offerings. Sponsors are contractually prohibited from selling or further sharing your data with non-affiliated third parties.

4.4 Your Choices

You may opt out of sponsor data sharing by deleting your account. We do not currently offer a partial opt-out (i.e., remain registered but exclude your data from sharing) because sponsor data access is fundamental to our platform model. Paid subscription tiers may include an opt-out of sponsor data sharing in the future.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to operate the Platform, including services for authentication, video hosting, email delivery, cloud storage, database hosting, CRM and lead tracking, analytics, web hosting, error monitoring, and internal notifications. These providers process your data on our behalf and are contractually required to protect it.

We will not add new providers that process personal data without updating this Policy. You may contact us at privacy@dentalownership.com for a current list of service providers.

6. Data Retention

• Active accounts: data retained for the lifetime of your account
• Deleted accounts: personal data purged within 30 days of deletion request, except data we are legally required to retain
• Community posts: may be retained in anonymized or pseudonymized form after account deletion to preserve community context
• Certificate records: retained indefinitely to support certificate verification requests
• Analytics data: aggregated and anonymized after 24 months
• Email logs: retained for 90 days for deliverability and debugging

7. Cookies

We use the following types of cookies and similar tracking technologies:

You can manage cookie preferences via the cookie consent banner shown on first visit, or in your browser settings. Disabling analytics or attribution cookies will not affect your ability to use the Platform.

8. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not directed to children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will delete it promptly. Contact us at privacy@dentalownership.com if you believe we have collected such information.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@dentalownership.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may require identity verification before processing requests. California residents may have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). EU/UK residents may have additional rights under GDPR.

10. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit, encrypted storage at rest on AWS infrastructure, access controls limiting employee access to personal data, and regular security reviews. No system is perfectly secure. In the event of a data breach that affects your personal data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

11. International Transfers

The Platform is operated in the United States. If you access the Platform from outside the United States, your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Platform, you consent to this transfer. Where required, we implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Policy on the Platform and updating the Effective Date above. Your continued use of the Platform after such notice constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Contact

For privacy questions, concerns, or rights requests: privacy@dentalownership.com